Electric battery



' June 15 1926.

R. B. OWEN ELECTRIC BATTERY Filed Maron 29, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l Juney15 1926.

R. B. OWEN ELECTRIC BATTERY 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed March 29. 1922uli-lum'- g 111m WTO@ of4 the cells Patented June 15, 1926.

UNITED STATES aleman n. ewan, orwasn'rnerommsrarcr oncomnrnan.v

PATENT' oFFlc unc'rarc BATTERY,

Appunti@ nl eaknronae, 1922. y semi no.' 547,823.

. ber 'of the cells of thebattery may be introduced into, or eliminatedfrom, an electric -c1rcu1t.

'A further-object of the invention 'is to provide a dev ice of the abovenature having selector means whereby any one or any `group of the-cellsof the battery may be used'independently of the other cells.

A still further object of the'invention resides in the f'provision of abattery of the 2 0 above named character which is strong, du-

rable, inexpensive to manufacture and lextremely een vement to use.

' Other objects and advantages of the in' vention will become ap arentduring the courseof the following escription. drawings, forming In the.accompanyin apart of the description and wherein like (numerals areemployed to designate like parts throughout the several views, y

Figure 1 1s a perspective view of my improved battery,

Figure/2 is a fragmentary longitudinalsection throughuthe same, partsthereof be'- inbroken away, p

igure` 3 is a transverse section through the battery, p'

Figure 4 is a to plan of the battery, parts thereof being bro en away,

Figure 5 is an enlarged section of a pair `of battery units, or cells,illustrating my preferred manner of supporting the electrodes, andinterconnectin the battery units.

Figure 6 is an enlarge sectional view of the movable contact maker,

Figure 7 is an elevation of the contact end .of the contact maker, 'andF1gure 8 is a perspective view of a strap used for interconnecting apair of adjacent battery units or cells.

l Referring to the drawings wherein for pair o the purposeofillustration I have shown the embodiment of my invention which' isillustrative thereof,the numeral 9 designates the battery in itsentirety, it consisting of a plurality of distinct batter 4These cellsare arran e in the present inunits or cells 10.

stance,`with theit` a )acent sides abutting, but it is to be understoodthat I do not limit the invention to this arrangement as the same isillustra-tedin this manner to show one application of theA invention.The battery units are prevented from relative movel ment by beingpositioned in a case 11 adapted to snugly receive the same. In thepresent instance eleven cells of a proximate y two volte each, areadapted to lbe-received in the case, it being customary to. use abouttwentytwo volts in a so-called tube circuit of .a receivlng'set of aradio station, but obviously the number may be varied. Although the of te Adry or'wet cell type, I have shown them in the present instance asbeingwet cells of the stora e battery type, since several advantages areerived from the use of storage battery cells which are not obtained fromdry cells ofthe ordinary type now used for various'purposes.

As all of the cells of my present battery are of similar construction adescri tion of one will suliice for all. Thls type o storage .batterycell consists of a jar or container 12 v having its upper-end open forthe reception of a cover 13 of insulating material, which in the resentinstance is provided with a fp spaced apertures for the passagetherethrough of the upper ends of terminal posts or e ectrodes 14 ofopposite clarity so that their up er ends extend a istance above thecover. he electrodes, are of course, submerged in an electrolyte in thejar and are retained in spaced relation to each other to prevent shortcircuiting by ja separator 15 disposed therebetween.

' As best seen in Fig. 3, each electrode consists in the presentinstance of a plate, the

er ed e of which between its ends is rov1 ed wit an upstandin extension16 w ich forms a pole or termina past of the cell and which may beprovided with a shoulder to yinde endent battery units 10 may be eitherasv abut the under tace of its cover 13. ln order to support theelectrodes with the shouldersof\the extensions abutting the cover, theextensions of plates of opposite polarity of adjacent battery cells, areconnected by a cell connecting strap 17. A plurality of these straps areused in my present battery to electrically interconnect the batterycells.

Each strap 17 consists of a casting of lead or lead alloy, the uppersurface of which is perfectly dat, while the under face thereof at eachend is provided with a depending solid portion 18 adapted to rest on thecovers of adjacent battery cells directly over the openings in thecovers through which the extensions 16 ot the electrodes protrude. Anopening 19 extends through each end of the strap 17 and through thedepending portion "18 thereof 'for registry with its respective coveropening to receive the upper end of an extension 16 of an electrode. Theupper ends of the openings 19 in the straps are countersunk as clearlyseen in Figs. 3 and 4.-.,

so that when the upper ends of the extensions 16 of the variouselectrodes are melted by the application of heat the material whichformed the upper ends of the extensions will melt down into the openings19 of the various straps and form vshoulders whereby the electrodes willbe supported by the straps and the latter will be prevented fromaccidental displacement from the terminal posts 1li-of the cells. Fromthe foregoing it will be obvious that each independent battery unit o rcell with a pan' of upstanding posts or poles of opposite polarity andeach pole is connected by a strap 17 to a pole of opposite polarity ofan adjacent cell. There will be one pole of each end battery celldisconnected from any other pole of' the battery, and 'a collar 2Oformed with a countersunk opening therein is adapted to be retained uponi the upper extended end of each of said poles or electrodes to supportthe same within its respective container or jaw 12. All of the straps orconnectors 17 extend longitudinally of the battery and in alinement asclearly shown in Fi 1. The ends of the various connectors 1 are, ofcourse, spaced apart for obvious reasons and the space between each pairis made wide enough to permit the passage of a selector member 30 andits engagement with the cover of any cell when it is desired to cut offthe current from the battery.

The case 11 for containing-the 'various battery cells 10 and forpreventing their relal f tive accidental movement consists of a cratelike structure in the present illustration, embodying a bottom 21, endwalls 22 and sides 23. 'The sides 23 are each made up of a pair ofspaced longitudinally extending bars 24:"conne'ztedjat. their ends tothe end walls 22. These end walls extend `above the sides 10 will beprovided messes of the crate and also above the battery cells 10 whereba guide 25 may be fastened to the exten ed ends of the. walls and bearranged above the battery cells to extend longitudinally thereof.Although the guide may assume various forms, l have shown the same inthe present instance as consisting of a pair of spaced parallel bars 26having their ends connected to the upper ends of the end walls 22.

ln order that any desired number of the cells of the battery may beintroduced into or eliminated from an electrical circuit including thebattery, l provide selector means 'which consists in the presentinstance cfa movable terminal 27 for the battery slidably enga ed withthe guide bars 26. A carrier for t e selector includes a pair of plates28 secured to opposite faces of a plate 29; all three plates havingapertures therein which register for the reception of a verticallymovable postor contact' maker 30. The plate 29 terminates short of theends of the plates 28 so that the ends of the rlatter are retained inspaced relation to receive therebetween port-ions of the guide bars 26.As will be obvious from the arrangement of the plates 28 and 29, asubstitute therefor can be made from a single block of material having acentral opening for the reception of the and the opposite ends groovedto be sli 'theguide bars 26.

-The ends oit the verticall 'movable post projects above and below teselector carrier, the end of the post below the same being corrugatedor serrated as at 31, so that whenthe post isengaged with any of thestraps 17, a good electrical contact will be established. This lowercorrugated end of the -contact maker post is normally urged downwardlyfor engagement with the various straps of'I oles of the battery by alcoil spring 32 on t e post having one end abutting the selector carrierand its other end abuttingl a pin 33 extending through post. y Y

The up r end of the post is threaded as seen in Fig. 6 for the rece tionet a metallic nut 34 and a nut 35 which may be of insulating materialand which forms a inger grip upon the upper end of the ost. A conductorwire 36 may be clampe between the nuts 34.- and 35 to connect thebattery to its circuit. -Y w In' order that the voltage of the currentLthe passing from the battery may. be determined wil seen thatv thecurrent may be selectively taken from the battery in the voltage de-`with any selected pole of the battery. For

instance, if it is desired to obtain current from only one cell, theselector carrier is moved toward the voltmeter end of the case bylifting up the postl 30 against the tension of the coil spring andmoving the same longitudinally ofthe guide 25, -until the post isdisposed directly over the second pole of the end cell adjacent thevoltmeter. When the grip 35 is released 4the coiled spring 32 expandsand forces the post downwardly into engagement with the pole 0f theselected battery cell. The leads 36 and 39 are connected in the samecircuit, and it will be seen that as soon as the lowerend of theselectorpost engages the proper pole ofthe battery, a complete circuitwill be established.

- Should current possessing a higher voltage be desired, the grip 35 isgrasped and lifted to cause the post 30 to move upwardly so that itslower end will be free from thepoles or straps of the battery afterwhich the carrier 27 is moved longitudinally of the guide bars 26 untilthe post is disposed above the pole of the battery cell with which it isdesired to engage the same. The grip 35 is then released to permit thepost to move downwardly into engagement with tllietpile or strap wherebythe circuit is comp e e Instead ofconnecting the lead 39 directly toapole of an end cell, it may be connected to a second movable contactmaker or selector, not shown, so that in case the end cell or any cellincluded in an electrical circuit should become defective thev lead 39can be'easily associated with a live cell to eliminate the defectiveonefrom the circuit.

Consequently, it will be seen that when any of the cells becomedefective, they can be readily removed from the circuit for .repairswithout interfering with the operation of the battery.

The foregoing description and the accompanying drawings have referenceto the preferred or 4approved embodiment of my invention; It is t6 Ybeunderstood however,

that such changes may be made in construction and arrangement vof parts,materials, dimensions, etc., as may prove expedient and fall within 4thescope of the appended claims. Havin invention, what I claim is I l.. Anelectric battery including a plurality of interconnected cells, and aselector .contact means movable in a predetermined path parallel to Vthepolesf'of the cellsand engageable withany of the poles forregulating thevoltage Aoffcurrent passing from the battery.

g thus described and illustrated my 2. An electric battery including aplurality of interconnected cells, a movable contact maker engageablewith any selected pole of the cells, guide means associated with thebattery for guiding said contact maker' into .proximity with all of saidpoles and means for normally urging the i contact maker into engagementwith any selected po e. v v

3. An electric battery comprisin a ,plurality of interconnected cells,gui e means associated therewith, a contact carrier movably associatedwith the guide means, and a movable contact maker mounted on the carrierand being engageable with any of the poles of the cells to regulate thevoltage of current passing from thebattery.

4. An electric battery comprlsinga case.

a plurality of interconnected cells positioned therein, tie'end walls of'the' case being extended above the tops of the cells, guide meanssupported by said end walls of the cells, and a movable contact slidablymounted upon the guide means and being engageable with any selected poleof the cells to iegulate the voltage of current passing therefrom. y v

5. Anelectric batt'ery comprising a case a plurality of interconnectedcells positione therein, a pair of spaced parallel'guide bars associatedwith the case, a contact carrier movably .associated with said guidebars, and a contact' maker mounted in the carrier and'movable relativethereto, and. means associated with the contact' maker for normallyurging the same'toward they cells, and into engagement with any selectedpole thereof. y

6. An electric battery .comprising a plurality of 4interconnected cells,guide means associated therewith, a'contact carrier movably associatedwith the guide means, a springv pressed contact post mounted in thecarrier and normally urged toward the cells, and the upper ends of saidpost being provided with an insulating member adapted to forma grilp forthe post.

7. An e rality of interconnected cells, a air of terminals for saidcells, and one o the terminalsbeing movable and engageable with anyselected pole of the cells and normall forced into engagement with oneofsaid pp es.

rality of cel-ls, straps connecting the oles of ectric battery includinga. pluand adapted to engage any selected strap for 1 selectivelyincluding any number of said cells in the battery. A v

9. An electric atter comprisin a pluralityfof interconnecte minals beingmovably 'associated with .the

cells, gui e 1nenms"' VVV `extending parallel to lthe cells, a pair ofter- 'minals for the battery, and one "of said terno,

messes v guide means for conveyance tonny one of said cells and beingengageeble with any selected pole of the cells. a

, 10. An electric battery comprising e case,

' a plurality of interconnected cells positioned therein, a pair ofspaced parallel guide bars arranged above the cells,' e Contact carrierhaving opposite ends grooved for slideble association with theguide'bars, and e spring. pressed contact maker carried by the carrierl@ and normally urged into engagement With :mv selected pole of thecells.

n testimony whereof, l aix my signature.

. RICHARD B. OWEN.

